TR Leger opening doors for its students

TR Leger School of Adult, Alternative and Continuing Education has been holding Days of Innovation at its campuses across Eastern Ontario, and last week is was the Williamsburg Campus’ time to shine.

Serving about 80 students, the Williamsburg campus opened its doors to the community April 21, to let the community know about all of the programs they offer, and to give its students the opportunity to let the community know about the work they are doing there.

Not only is it an option for young people who may not fit into the mainstream schooling, it offers a huge amount of resources for adults who may want to upgrade their skills, gain additional credits or complete a high school diploma.

Through Prior Learning Assessment & Recognition, offered at TR Leger, secondary school credits are awarded to adults for previous schooling and work experience.

Julie Duchesne, guidance councillor for the Williamsburg Campus, is typically a person’s first contact when they walk through the doors of the TR Leger Campus. A person doesn’t need to know which program they want to sign up for. “We will figure that out, and bridge them into the program that will help them achieve their goals,” said Duchesne.

All of the staff work closely together and create a very comfortable environment for the students.

Sharon Hall of Iroquois is a student at TR in Williamsburg, and looks forward to writing her final exam in the coming weeks.

“It’s really hard to go back to school in your 50s, but I did it,” says Hall. “Everyone here is so nice and helpful, and no matter what, they work to try to help you.”

Reflecting on her time a TR, she says, “Actually, I’m very proud of myself.”

The day of the open house, Erin Moss of Morrisburg wrote his final exam to officially become a high school graduate.

Moss started a TR in Williamsburg to learn some computer skills when he was off work for a workplace injury. From his experience with that program, he then started to think about finishing his high school diploma. “The staff here is very supportive and I feel comfortable, and that helped me gain the confidence I needed to get my diploma.”

“I was skeptical at the beginning,” he admits.

But now, he earned his four credits, and he’s a high school graduate.

“It feels excellent. This is a really good feeling, and my kids are proud of me. For anyone considering it, this is the ideal place to come. There’s a lot of great support here.”

TR Leger principal Sandy McInnes and vice principal Rich Tamblyn were both at the Williamsburg Campus open house last week.

“Events like this bring people together and that validates our students work and learning,” said Tambyln.

McInnes said it was important for the administrators to be there to support the students as they share what’s important to them with the community.

“It’s important for people to come here and see that there’s no stigma. It’s just about teaching and learning and our campuses are filled with good people.”

He said that all of the students’ work at TR will open doors for them.

“Every times someone finishes their time here and walks out the door of this building, a person’s life, and the community, just got better.”

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Surrounded by their hockey family last Monday night, December 5, Nash Nesbitt and his mom and dad were at the arena where they were presented with the proceeds of a dance organized by the players and parents of the South Dundas Bantam B Rep team.

The benefit dance, held Saturday, November 12 at the Iroquois Legion for youth in grades seven to 12, in addition to some added donations, allowed the Lions to present the Iroquois family a whopping $3,500.

For Nash, his mom Tammy and his dad Earl, the support from the community has been overwhelming since Nash was diagnosed with Non Hodgkins Lymphoma (a cancer of the lymphoid tissue) early this past summer.

That support has seen them through a tough time, as Nash received treatment in Ottawa.

Nash has now rejoined his grade 9 classmates at Seaway High School and says that although he tired easily for the first week, he was extremely happy to be back.

Nash was able to attend the dance and in thanking the organizers and everyone who attended, he says, “the hockey team has been amazing.”

Although he had hoped to return to the Bantam B lineup, his doctor has indicated that while he can skate and practice, it is not likely he will be able to suit up for a game this season. Over the next weeks and months he will continue to be monitored and the port used to deliver his chemotherapy will remain in place until he gets an all clear.

“The support we have received from our friends, family, work and people we don’t even know has been amazing,” said Earl as he and Tammy accepted the donation that will help them to offset the travel, parking and food expenses they experienced during Nash’s treatments. “We have had people from everywhere offering to help us in any way they can. What can you say, but ‘thank you’.”

The Nesbitts thanked the Bantam B Lions team and team parents, the local youth who attended the dance, organizers Rondalyn Jarvis, Cassandra Barry and Heather Black and everyone who made donations.

“We are the greatest country in the world. This is a simply a fantastic place to live. And we really are a nation of caring. I’ve travelled all around the world as an entertainer, and I’ve found that other countries absolutely embrace Canada.”

So it should come as no surprise that Way is throwing those sentiments, and her renowned talents as a singer, an actor and a producer, into the new show which will open the Upper Canada Playhouse 2015 season. The premiere of Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee, is a celebration of Canadian music and Canadian artists through the last six decades. From Paul Anka to Bachman Turner Overdrive, from Buffy Sainte-Marie to Gordon Lightfoot, from Leonard Cohen to Michael Buble, Leisa Way and her fantastic Wayward Wind band are drawing from a rich heritage of Canadiana. And with Canada’s 150th anniversary a bare two years away, Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee, has a very timely air about it.

“Upper Canada Playhouse is clearly way ahead of the curve,” Way laughed. “With all the celebrations coming up in 2017, everyone is going to be incredibly proud to be a Canadian, and we are excited to be part of that energy with this new show.”

Leisa Way is no stranger to the work involved in mounting a major musical, and no stranger to audiences at Upper Canada Playhouse. She brought Sweet Dreams (Patsy Cline), Rhinestone Cowgirl (Dolly Parton), Country Jukebox and Wichita Lineman (Glen Campbell) to the Playhouse, playing to packed houses and rave reviews. For Oh, Canada, she has researched the musicians and the music of nearly 60 artists, the events and the passions that inspired their work. “I love this kind of research,” Way said, “finding meaningful information about a writer and artist to use in creating the show. The biggest challenge for me is finally having to cut some great music.”

This exciting new show looks at Canadian artists “that people will know and enjoy”, loosely fitting the music into several ‘themes’. The rock n’ roll segment will feature Paul Anka, the first Canadian ever to have a number one hit on the R&R charts, and groups who heavily influenced the rock n’ roll scene like the Four Lads and the Crew Cuts. Folk is reflected in the work of Ian & Sylvia, Gordon Lightfoot and Joni Mitchell. When it came to rock, “I decided to ask some ‘authorities’,” Way laughed, “Norm Foster (who was a radio host), my husband David, and my mother. They gave me ideas about the iconic rock stars and bands. Basically, if they knew a song and loved it, it’s in the show.”

“We perform a couple of medleys,” Way explained, “but I tend to like to hear an entire song, so I emphasize that approach in the show. Keeping it to one song an artist was a real challenge.” She is backed, in this production, by some of Canada’s current top musicians. Nathan Smith, Bobby Prochaska, Fred Smith, Bruce Ley and Sam Cino lend their incredible instrumentation and voices to Oh , Canada, We Sing For Thee.

When I asked Leisa Way where the inspiration for this new production came from, she immediately responded, “From Donnie Bowes. He was the person who inspired me to create Patsy and Dolly, Country Jukebox and Wichita Lineman. His faith and belief in me inspired me to tackle this production as well. He basically said to me, what about a show that celebrates Canadian music and musicians? Donnie Bowes and the venue at Upper Canada Playhouse are the big draws for me. He’s the reason that I feel I have been able to create concerts that entertain and uplift.”

Currently the show is rehearsing at Theatre Orangeville, but is due to transfer to the Playhouse the first of next week. The show runs April 21-25.

“With Oh, Canada, We Sing For Thee,” Leisa Way said, “I believe we are giving people entertainment that reflects us as a nation and proudly tells our stories.”

For information and tickets contact Upper Canada Playhouse at 1-613-543-3713.

That just made the April 14 concert at the Morrisburg Meeting Centre more memorable. The Crooked Brothers and Manitoba Hal thoroughly rocked the Centre at their Saturday concert.

Hal Brolund, better known as Manitoba Hall, opened.

A man with an enormous talent, he instantly charmed the audience with his unique, unconventional approach to the blues.

Performing with his old ‘friend’, a special double-necked, “radio sonic” ukulele, Hal was a one-man band on stage.

Soft and sweet on “Baby, please don’t go,” husky and hurt on “You know boys/she fool you once/she gonna do it again”, and foot-stomping and fun on the classic “I Owe My Soul to the Company Store,” Hal quickly won the crowd.

The transplanted Maritimer’s sense of humour took the fore when he performed the very unconventional blues piece, “When life is like a hot dog.”

Enticed once by a $2 hot dog deal at a concert, already holding the steaming ‘dog’ in one hand, he discovered the catch: customers had to somehow cut open the buns themselves.

“I was instantly inspired to write a song about this,” Hal explained to mounting laughter, “and originally included the line, “with one hand on my weiner, Lord, and one hand on my bun.” I gradually realized how that line might play with audiences however, so I changed it to “Life is like a hotdog bun/No matter how you slice it, you’ve gotta do it yourself.”

Yup, this is really a song about self-reliance and helping your fellow man.”

Singing selections taken from his latest release, Flirting with Mermaids, Manitoba Hal played the whole range of blues: all of them his way.

In an earlier interview, Brolund talked about the “good and true” qualities of the blues, how hard living and troubles often lead to religious imagery in blues songs, including his own.

“If I could, I surely would/Stand on the rock where Moses stood..”

An artist who readily shares his musical knowledge, Manitoba Hal held a Saturday workshop for ukulele students.

Chuck Leclair, a participant, said the workshop had been a great experience. “Hal is an interactive person. He broke songs down in ways we could all understand, even more advanced techniques. You’ve just got to love him.”

Cheryl Lanford, another participant agreed. “I’m a novice player, and Hal taught me seven incredible things just in the short time we had. He was a compassionate teacher.”

In the second half of the St. Lawrence concert, The Crooked Brothers took no prisoners.

Whatever your idea of a prairie band singing Canadian songs might be, The Crooked Brothers shatter all traditions.

The masters of harmonica, guitar, mandolin and dobro, with voices that shift in and out of conventional vocal ranges in unexpected ways, including performing acapella, they step way outside regular genres.

In an earlier interview, Baker described their sound as “roots”, but rock and roll, country, blue grass, gospel, they’re all mixed in. “We twist and stretch our sounds our own way,” he explained.

There is a distinct and passionate “Canadian” feel to their music. This was never more evident Saturday than in the stunning, “17 Horses”, about the building of the 44 highway across the prairies, or in the angry “Farmers Feed Cities”. “You’re tearing out my heart/And selling it for scrap…”

The sheer power of their performance can actually catch you off guard.

Yet the Brothers also share a disarming sense of humour on stage and in their music.

“We’re from Winnipeg, where it’s flat,” Matt deadpanned. “You hop in the car, put on cruise control and pop in the back seat for a nap. You only wake up in Regina long enough to refuel.”

“Standin’ Still,” hilariously describing travelling through the Rockies at 3 a.m., painted a true and funny portrait of the life of musicians on the road. So too, did Matt’s ironic, but oh-so-Canadian observation, “We are now going to try and play our nicest songs…yup, winter and sadness.”

Their unique brand of music has been shaped and honed in venues ranging from living rooms to concert stages to smoky, rowdy bars. It is memorable, exciting, unexpected.

The Crooked Brothers are, quite simply, a powerhouse on stage.

Don’t miss the final concert of the spectacular St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage 2012 series coming on May 26.